Were you a little chilly last winter? So were Alex Huang (ElecE 1T3+PEY) and Jason Yakimovich (CompE 1T3+PEY). Then fourth-year students slogging through bitter drifts to class, the two were so unimpressed by the “polar vortex” that they decided to take matters into their own hands by inventing the world’s first intelligent heated base layer.
In just six months, the pair founded their company, FuelWear, and created a light-weight, washable and cozy undershirt they call the Flame Base Layer. The garment can add 10 degrees Celsius to your body temperature in -20 C weather for three continuous hours, and has a smart monitor that turns off when you’re warm enough, and on again when you cool down.
Demand is already high. On August 26, FuelWear launched its first crowdsourcing campaign on Indiegogo with a target of $20,000. They reached it on September 2, just five days into their six-week window, and have been gaining momentum ever since.
The shirt is made of premium bamboo fabric, chosen for its antimicrobial properties and washability. The heating elements are made of carbon fibre and controlled by specially designed printed circuit boards. Rechargeable batteries last for up to 12 hours of continuous outdoor use, and LEDs indicate battery life. The whole package weighs just a few hundred grams, which is slightly heavier than a modern smartphone.
“It’s really soft—it feels great,” said Yakimovich.
“We’re really happy with the way it’s turning out, and we can’t wait to start processing orders,” added Huang.
But their journey hasn’t been all warm and fuzzy. From early struggles with designing and testing the product, to identifying their target demographics, FuelWear benefitted from the help and guidance from U of T Engineering’s Entrepreneurship Hatchery mentors Professor Vaughn Betz (ECE) and Rotman graduate student Candice Luck.
After being accepted into the Hatchery’s intensive summer program, Huang and Yakimovich met with Professor Betz to talk execution and marketing.
“We wanted to start with building the prototype, but he encouraged us to do more market research first and target our model to that niche market,” said Huang. “We found that the construction and outdoor-worker market was already very saturated, but we noticed major flaws in existing base layers for outdoor adventurers.”
Following market research, the duo began sourcing suppliers in June 2014.
“We had to do a lot of testing to find the right materials to make it washable, because there are electrical elements in there,” said Yakimovich. Their first two attempts at a prototype were hand-sewed on a second-hand sewing machine bought for the project; neither claims to be a tailor, and the results were a little misshapen. By their third iteration, they had forged a partnership with established garment manufacturer Gruven Athletics, and supplied Gruven with a pattern.
“Every time we made it, we made it simpler,” said Huang.
Huang moved to Edmonton from southern China at age 16, and met Yakimovich, who is also from Edmonton, during their first year of the Engineering Science program before both transferred into ECE. The two are now roommates in a condo at Bay and College, which makes planning business meetings simple.
Having exceeded their funding goal, things are heating up for FuelWear—they hope to ship the first base layers in time for Christmas. For those Indiegogo investors who got in with FuelWear on the ground floor, it’s going to be a toasty winter.
Find out more on their Indiegogo campaign.
As new and returning engineering students attend their first classes of the year, the excitement on U of T campus is palpable.
But it’s not only the pupils who are looking forward to a fresh start; our newest educators are also excited to join the Faculty, to pursue research and to inspire the next generation of innovators and makers.
U of T Engineering is thrilled to welcome four new faculty members, each with diverse academic backgrounds that will enrich our culture of excellence. Just as we encourage multidisciplinary collaboration amongst our students, our newest faculty members also represent a broad cross section of experiences and interests.
Trained in a number of disciplines, Elodie Passeport (ChemE, CivE) received her PhD in Water Sciences in France before completing her postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley. Prior to her position with Engineering, Passeport worked at U of T in the Earth Sciences department.
Margaret Hai-Ling Cheng (IBBME, ECE) is a U of T alumna herself and, prior to joining the Faculty, she pursued research at the Hospital for Sick Children where she combined her electrical and computer engineering expertise with her biomedical training to develop magnetic resonance imaging technologies.
Kinnor Chattopadhyay (MSE) specializes as a process metallurgist. Upon completing his PhD at McGill, he gained two years of experience in the metals industry working for Hatch Ltd., a global engineering and management consultancy firm.
Alumna Gisele Azimi (ChemE, MSE) received her PhD in chemical engineering at U of T before completing two postdoctoral positions at MIT, one in Materials Sciences and the other in Mechanical Engineering.
U of T Engineering spoke with these four new faculty members to learn more.
What are you most looking forward to in your new position?
EP: I am thrilled to begin building a research group while interacting with graduate students. Although we come to U of T with diverse backgrounds, we share a common interest: the advancement of environmental science and engineering. I also look forward to meeting our undergraduate students and helping to guide their discovery of engineering.
HLC: The university is the ideal place to pass our knowledge on to the next generation. The obligation we have as educators – to inspire students and open their eyes and minds to endless possibilities – is an opportunity and responsibility I truly look forward to. I am also excited about new collaborative research opportunities on campus, especially teaming up with groups who are interested in the fundamentals of science.
KC: One of my goals here at U of T is to collaborate with my colleagues to further develop in the area of process metallurgy. I am also sincerely excited to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the process of metallurgy and extractive metallurgy.
GA: I look forward to performing leading-edge research with the goal of addressing some critical issues that exist in our society and environment. I also love teaching and am excited to inspire and educate the next generation of engineers who will someday make our world a better place.
What were your reasons for choosing the University of Toronto?
EP: For me, U of T’s main attraction was the strength of the colleagues and students. Another reason why this position was so attractive to me was the enhanced opportunities for multidisciplinary research enabled by the cross-appointment.
HLC: The University of Toronto is an amazing institution with strengths in so many research areas. It is also located in Toronto, which is a great city to live in and one of the best cities to engage in research. Above all, my family is here, and having a wonderful support system is very important to me.
KC: As the best school in Canada, U of T offers the unique opportunity to teach and supervise some of the brightest minds in the country and from around the world.
GA: The University of Toronto is my alma mater so I feel a deep attachment to it. U of T is also one of the best schools in the world, and it attracts talented students and the great faculty who will be my colleagues. I am looking forward to finding success in this tremendous university.
As a new professor, what one piece of advice would you give to new students?
EP: Make your learning experience as enjoyable as possible: search why it’s important, study with your friends, go talk to your professors; U of T has a lot of resources so make the most of them. And be sure to get a very, very warm coat.
HLC: My advice for graduate students is to have good research ideas, keep your head down, work hard, persevere, and get back up when you fail. Focus on your research, but keep your eyes and ears open to activities in the broader research community. Above all, don’t be afraid to tread unconventional research territories.
KC: This is your time to build your future. So love it and live it.
GA: Enjoy these beautiful years of your lives and try your best to learn about science, life and human communications as much as you can. Your time at U of T will build the foundation of a fruitful life.
A 42-year-old investment banker arrived at the emergency room with complaints of nausea, vomiting, anxiety and tremors. He told doctors he drank alcohol every day—often at business lunches—and at home every evening. Worried about his health, he decided to quit drinking and had his last Scotch 24 hours before going to the hospital.
It’s a common scenario in emergency rooms across North America: a patient suddenly stops regular, excessive alcohol consumption and experiences withdrawal, a potentially fatal, easily treatable side-effect.
The most common clinical sign of withdrawal is tremor, especially in the hands and arms. Judging tremor severity is harder than it sounds—it requires considerable medical expertise, and even experienced doctors’ estimates can vary widely. Chronic alcohol abusers often come to the emergency department claiming to be in withdrawal in an effort to obtain benzodiazepines—a class of sedatives used to treat alcohol withdrawal, anxiety and more—and it can be difficult for inexperienced clinicians to determine if the patient is actually in withdrawal or “faking” a tremor to get access to these prescription medications. Front-line healthcare workers had no objective way to tell the sufferers from the fakers—until now.
Professor Parham Aarabi (ECE) teamed up with PhD candidate Narges Norouzi (ECE MSc 1T4) and Professor Bjug Borgundvaag of the Faculty of Medicine to develop the world’s first mobile app to measure tremor strength, providing objective guidance that can help direct treatment decisions. The app also shows promise in making solid predictions about whether the tremor is real or fake. [Watch a video of the app in action].
To obtain data, users hold an iPod in both hands for 20 seconds while the device’s built-in accelerometer measures the frequency of the tremor. Researchers tested the app on 49 patients experiencing tremors in the emergency room, as well as 12 nurses trying to mimic the symptom. The app showed significant results, with only 17 per cent of nurses able to “fake it.”
While studies were promising, Norouzi found that her app’s ability to assess tremor strength matched that of junior physicians, while more senior doctors were able to judge symptoms with better accuracy. Norouzi’s next move is to continue honing the tool, comparing its performance to doctors’ subjective assessments, and to further study the effects of left- or right-handedness.
“There’s so much work to do in this field,” said Norouzi. “There is other work out there on Parkinson’s tremors, but much less on tremors from alcohol withdrawal.”
“The exciting thing about our app is that the implications are global,” said Professor Borgundvaag, who is also an emergency physician at the Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital. “Alcohol-related illness is commonly encountered, not only in the emergency room, but also elsewhere in the hospital, and this gives clinicians a much easier way to assess patients using real data.”
“Our app may also be useful in assisting withdrawal management staff, who typically have no clinical training in determining which patients should be transferred to the emergency department for medical treatment or assessment. We think our app has great potential to improve treatment for these patients overall.”
“We have just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible by applying signal processing and machine learning to body-connected sensors,” said Professor Aarabi. “As sensors improve and algorithms become smarter, there’s a good chance that we may be able to solve more medical problems and make medical diagnosis more efficient.”
Norouzi and the team presented this work on Aug. 29, 2014 at the International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society in Chicago.
Read more about this story in The Toronto Star.
The University of Toronto’s Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP) is catered to curious, motivated high school students seeking advanced skills and knowledge in science and math. Over the summer months, students enjoy a variety of courses with subjects ranging from robotics to neuroscience. They gain insight into post-secondary education at U of T, while meeting like-minded students. The following photos take a look at a few of the courses offered by U of T Engineering Outreach this year, including ENGage and Girls’ Jr. DEEP (Photos: Roberta Baker).
They’re building up, shipping out and being celebrated as the future of innovation.
The University of Toronto is a hub for many biotech and health innovators looking to develop their research and business acumen through programs, courses, accelerators and more.
With consumers continually looking for the next new thing, it can take a lot for any startup to break through the noise – but two companies from U of T engineering alumni are doing just that.
U of T News’ Brianna Goldberg explores two startups that are recently making headlines from the MIT Technology Review to Wired magazine.
Wearable sensors get a boost
For Engineering alumnus David He (ECE 0T5), being named one of the MIT Technology Review’s ‘Innovators Under 35’ this week promises to be a big boost for the company he co-founded two years ago, Quanttus.
Quanttus has a simple goal: to change how people manage their own health. The company’s first prototypes are based on He’s PhD work with wearable sensors, specifically those that measure the mechanical functioning of the heart in previously unexplored ways.
MIT Technology Review’s editor-in-chief and publisher Jason Pontin highlights that He is in good company as one of the ‘Innovators Under 35.’
“Previous winners include Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google; Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook; Jonathan Ive, the chief designer of Apple; and David Karp, the creator of Tumblr,” said Pontin. “We’re proud of our selections and the variety of achievements they celebrate, and we’re proud to add David He to this prestigious list.”
“This watch could finally get your blood pressure under control,” reads the headline of Technology Review’s feature on He. But from the $22 million in venture capital his company has already raised, it seems like it has the potential to do much more.
Read more about David He and Quanttus.
Bionym invites volunteer developers
The clock is counting down for the Nymi – a wristband that uses your heart rate to eliminate the need for passwords, PIN codes and more. Designed by U of T engineering alumni Foteini Agrafioti (ElecE MASc 0T9 PhD 1T1) and Karl Martin (ElecE BASc 0T1 MASc 0T3 PhD 1T0) through their startup Bionym, wearable tech’s much-anticipated fall 2014 release draws near.
Bionym has already received widespread attention from media outlets around the world, including The New York Times, Wired, The Economist and others.
In advance of their consumer launch, they have begun tapping into the tech community’s creativity for more ideas on additional uses for the Nymi. They recently put sample ‘software development kits’ in the hands of volunteer developers, helping them dream up new features to integrate into the Nymi’s offerings in addition to the applications it’s set to ship with, such as auto-unlock-and-lock
“The Nymi can grant you access to devices that are password-protected – be it a phone, tablet, computer or more – when they are nearby one another,” reads a recent post on their blog. “The device will lock again when the Nymi is no longer nearby.”
“From students working on hobby projects, to IT engineers at large companies,” the blog continues, “to those that build products and components for cars, buildings, airlines and stores, we’re looking for people around the world to realize the potential of the Nymi.”
Read more about Bionym’s invitation to developers on Tech Crunch.
Crowded around glossy posters, inquiring about dental resins and porous structural materials, U of T Engineering’s undergraduate students buzzed with excitement as they shared their summer research projects.
The event, known as UnERD (Undergraduate Engineering Research Day), was a one-day research symposium that gave students an opportunity to gain additional feedback and recognition for their hard work over the summer months. Presentations include posters and podiums from over 100 students covering topics from biomedical engineering and energy, to materials science and computer modelling.
After two keynote talks from Professor Paul Santerre (IBBME) and Professor Craig Simmons (MIE), a panel of judges also selected three grand prize winners who have the opportunity to publish their research in the Canadian Young Scientist Journal.
“Research is such an important component engineering, I wanted to be part of an event that celebrates that,” said engineering undergraduate Amy Zhao (MSE 1T6), who organized the event with fellow co-chair Marshell Ma (MIE 1T5).
Learn more about this year’s grand prize winners:
Ahmed Anwer (MechE 1T6): Functionally Graded Polymeric Structures and Their Superior Impact Properties
Closed-cell metallic foams – high-impact resistant structures that are lightweight because of tiny gas-filled pockets – are currently a widely-used material for most impact applications. However, these materials are expensive to manufacture. Anwer and the Smart and Adaptive Polymers Laboratory (SAPL) tested five different porous materials for their impact strength-to-weight ratio, and found that functionally graded porous structures – a certain method for manufacturing porous structures – are optimal.
Mitchell Nascimento (IBBME): Synthesis of Antimicrobial Monomers Using the Antibiotics Ciprofloxacin and Metronidazole
Dental resin composites are a promising material in dental restoration, but are subject to significant breakdown in the mouth. Nascimento, who studies fulltime at the University of Windsor and worked as a research assistant at U of T for the summer, developed an antimicrobial composite by coupling pharmaceutical drugs with dental resin which inhibits breakdown and can reduce the necessity of dental restoration implants.
Matthew Langley (EngSci 1T5): Modeling and characterization of donor cell memory in T cell progenitor-derived induced pluripotent stem cells
Adult cells can be programmed to become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) – stem cells that can be applied to any tissue in the body. However, these cells exhibit “donor cell memory,” meaning they display different gene expressions dependent on their cell type, which limits their use.
Langley has developed a novel method for characterizing donor cell memory such that it can be utilized to stabilize the cell. This serves to further enhance the utility of stem cells.
UnERD happens every summer at U of T Engineering, and is open to any undergraduate university student conducting research in the Faculty over summer. The initiative is supported in part through the Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering.